The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

IN THIS EPISODE we catch up with the special effects makeup masters the Chiodo Brothers. Way, way back in the day, Alan & Gil talked about hitchinig their collective creative wagons together. In this sit-down, two of the brothers, Stephen and Charles, join Alan & Gil for a free-ranging celebration of all things horror. But especially that place where horror and comedy co-exist like, well,...

IN THIS EPISODE When it comes to producing Big Studio Tentpole Movies - the summer or Christmas blockbuster that the studio is counting on to make its year - no one was/is better than this podcast's occasional co-host GIL ADLER. After Gil and Alan parted ways and ended their decade-long creative partnership and friendship, Gil went on to become Warner Bros go-to tentpole guy. He oversaw Superman R...

IIN THIS EPISODE: Leading actors come and go but good character actors are eternal. Actors like our very good friend William Sadler embody a kind of character actor perfection. Bill's easygoing charm can play anywhere on the good v evil spectrum. Hell, one of Bill's best known characters is The Grim Reaper, a seemingly larger-than-life character turned endearingly neurotic (and hilarious) by Bill'...

THE BLURB: In this bonus episode, we celebrate the fact that "Tales From The Crypt" at long, long last is finally streaming (on the horror platform Shudder!) and it's definitely a cause for celebration. Joining us to celebrate is our friend, the entertainment journalist (and Crypt super fan) Kristen Lopez. We'll talk about Crypt's curious journey to streaming and share other backstage stories. We'...

THE BLURB: NICK MECHANIC returns to give us a LIST of his BEST V WORST - BEST FOOD in LA, best clients, WORST DEAL he ever made, best executive he worked with, WORST DAY OF HIS LIFE. If you've heard Nick in previous episodes, you know: he was both a HOLLYWOOD SUPER AGENT and a HOLLYWOOD DRUG DEALER. He spent time in prison after getting caught doing the latter. Nick really has seen the best and wo...

THE BLURB: MAGICIAN WES ISELI talks about the evolution of his craft - how integrating his (now) wife NATALIE ISELI into the act kicked it to new heights. How one MAGIC TRICK beat master illusionists PENN & TELLER. How does one even become a magician? More than anything else, creating illusions is a craft. And, as for happiness? Wes has that trick covered, too! SHOW NOTES: I met Wes Iseli via...

THE BLURB: My friend COLMAN DEKAY knows everybody. And if he doesn't, he knows almost everybody. It's always been that way. The son of a publisher, Colman got used to writers like DONALD WESTLAKE, JAMES BALDWIN and NORMAN MAILER just "hanging out" at their apartment in NYC. A terrific writer himself, Colman would go on to write several episodes of TALES FROM THE CRYPT and the feature BULLETS OVER...

THE BLURB: If ever there was a metaphorical “FIELD OF DREAMS”, it’s  HOLLYWOOD . And, in order to get anywhere near that field of dreams, you’re gonna need either an AGENT, a MANAGER or a PRODUCER. Hey – what if you could get  all three in one person ! In this episode I chat with JEFF FIELD – the man who manages  my  entertainment career. As you’ll hear, “manager” describes onl...

THE BLURB: Want top know what's really happening on any film or TV set? Don't ask the executives, they don't know anything. The director also is (or should be) oblivious. But, one thing's for certain about most every film set - it has secrets. Who's sleeping with whom? Who's got weird habits? Who needs better personal hygiene? If you want to the answers to those questions, you have to talk to eith...

THE BLURB: In this episode meet Tales From The Crypt alum, writer, director, producer and script doctor extraordinaire Peter Iliff. Peter wrote and directed Crypt's season 5 episode "Till Death Do We Part" with Kate Vernon and John Stamos. Peter will share war stories from some of his other projects including Point Break. SHOW NOTES If you enjoy this podcast, please visit https://costardandtouchst...

THE BLURB: Among the incredibly talented directors we got to work with on Crypt (the lst included EP's Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill and Richard Donner, William Friedkin, John Frankenheimer, Tobe Hooper, Tom Hanks and Michael J. Fox), was horror meister William Malone. Bill directed two episoides including one considered by the people making Crypt as one of its best - Skin Deep. The title of this e...

THE BLURB: Ernest Dickerson is a great filmmaker, a great DP (director of photography/cinematographer) and a truly lovely person. We had the pleasure of working together on the first Crypt branded feature film that we put out as part of our Universal 3 picture deal. Ernest was an inspired choice. His talent and vision are a given. But, it was Ernest's love for and encyclopaedic knowledge of horror...

THE BLURB: In its final season - and for various reasons, some good, some not-so-good, we produced the last season of Crypt in London. All the good reasons were really, really good: locations we couldn't get in LA, cast we couldn't get in LA, and, hey - just the pleasures of living in London on the company's dime. But the not-so-good had to do with being American fishes in English water and the co...

THE BLURB: You know how you meet someone – on the  set of a movie  – say T ALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS DEMON KNIGHT , and the first thought that hits you (after “wow, he’s a nice guy”) is “Wow – that guy is  smart, too !”? That’s Charlie Fleischer! Being smart – especially that smart – has a lot of the same hallmarks as being nuts. Those kinda people tend to focus with manic intens...

THE BLURB: Director William Malone directed (among other things including feature films and TV shows) one of the very best episodes of "Tales From The Crypt" ever - "Only Skin Deep" which features an amazing performance by Sherrie Rose. In this episode, Bill talks about shooting that episode and about his feature work and about buying the iconic movie prop "Robbie The Robot" and then selling it fo...

THE BLURB: When Gil and Alan first suggested to their boss, Joel Silver, that Academy Award winning director William Friedkin ("The Exorcist", "French Connection", Sorcerer") direct an episode of Tales From The Crypt, Joel told them that Billy (a guy with a rep for intense behavior) would eat them alive. That didn't happen. Instead, Alan and Gil and the entire Crypt creative team embarked on one o...

THE BLURB: After producing Crypt, Gil went on to produce several horror movies for Dark Castle Films - another Joel Silver company. The Dark Castle films began with a series of remakes of classic horror movies made by showman par excellence, William Castle. In this episode, Castle's daughter Terry Castle sits in with Gil and Alan to discuss not just her dad's iconic work but also what it was like...

THE BLURB: Caligula is one of the most notorious movies ever produced. The movie that "they" set out to make was not the movie they ultimately made. The actors had no idea that the producer - Bob Guccione - would turn the lavishly produced, boldly sexual take on Roman emperor Caligula into an outright skin flick. Included - an interview with actor Malcolm McDowell about his work on the movie and s...

THE BLURB: We had the great pleasure of not only knowing director, screenwriter, producer Tobe Hooper, but of getting to work with him on multiple occasions. In this episode, Gil and I share some stories about those experiences and we sit down with Kim Henkel (co-writer with Tobe of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre screenplay) and cinematographer Levie Isaaks; Levie shot Spontaneos Combustion...

THE BLURB: Malcolm McDowell is another member of the Crypt family. He acted in the episode "The Reluctant Vampire". In this episode we reminisce about working together on a fan favorite episode, and we talk some shop about working with Kubrick, shooting "If..." with Lindsey Anderson and Caligula - the textbook for how NOT to make a porno. SHOW NOTES For more great podcasts like The How NOT To Make...

THE BLURB: In this episode, Steve DeSouza tells more war stories from the show biz trenches - and makes a very convincing argument that Die Hard is, in fact, a better Christmas Movie than White Christmas. SHOW NOTES For more great shows like The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast, please visit costardandtouchstone ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: Steve DeSouza isn't just a good screenwriter, he's a great one. He's written some iconic action movies including the Die Hard movies, Commando, Ricochet and Hudson Hawk among many others. SHOW NOTES For more great podcasts like The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast, please visit costardandtouchstone productions! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: Casting director VICTORIA BURROWS cast most of the episodes of Crypt that Gil and I produced. Casting will have a huge impact on whether or not a movie/TV show/play succeeds as intended. That makes the work of any casting director essential. With Vic, the challenge was even more challenging. She was tasked with getting movie stars to appear on a TV series back in a time when movie stars...

THE BLURB: World famous horror icons don't just fall from the sky fully formed. The Crypt Keeper epitomizes that. In this first ever conversation between the four co-creators (makeup special effects master KEVIN YAGHER, actor JOHN KASSIR, writer/producer A L KATZ and writer/producer/director GIL ADLER) of The Crypt Keeper, you'll hear how this iconic character evolved. SHOW NOTES If you enjoy The...

THE BLURB: You've heard the Frankenstein's monster story, now stick around for a look at all the spare body parts that didn't make the cut (as it were). There's even MORE to the Bordello Of Blood saga! SHOW NOTES The Cutting Room Floor is legendary in Hollywood. Whole careers have happened there. In fact, there's a whole weird history in Hollywood of scenes and actors who famously never made "the...